Painting over Film

[Tim Cheal]

I am after some guidance on finishing my Dennis Bryant Chipmunk. Its a long way off finishing yet, but just trying to get my ducks in a row so I can do some testing before I cover the model.

 

I would like to finish the model in the RAF Red, white and Grey training colours. If I use Solarfilm I am advised it cannot be painted, but they don't do the grey in solarfilm. If I use Profilm I can get a grey (not sure whether it is suitable or not yet) but Profilm says it can be painted.

 

So, first question of possibly many, whats the difference between Solarfilm and Profilm with regards to painting?

 

Second question is can anybody recommend a covering that is available is White, Red and Grey, or a way of covering that can be painted with suitable paints? Would Profilm work here, or is there a more economical alternative??

 

Or am I going in totally the wrong direction?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Tim

 

[Tim Mackey]

I dont like the idea of paint on film. Solartex is the preferred covering to accept paint, but its heavy and pricey.

Have you considered lightweight glass cloth and Poly-C or conventional epoxy resin - these will accept a primer and paint finish.

[John Olsen 1]

Hi Tim,

I haven't tried this stuff myself yet, so can't make any recommendation yet, but I picked up a packet of Sig Koverall when I was in Australia last year. So, to quote from the packet, it is:-

 

" a light weight polyester based fabic that can be applied dry. Shrinks tight with iron or heat gun. Attached where you want. Takes dope, enamel, or epoxy. Very high impact strength. Easy to apply. Koverall is a cloth covering of the type used on full-scale aircraft, but lighter weight (1 and 1/4 oz per square yard.) Its superior strength and low price has made Koverall a real favourite with builders of giant size models. It's the most economical cloth covering you can buy."

 

It doesn't have glue on it, they recommend either doping it on, or preferably using their own "Sig Stix-it" which I have not managed to obtain yet, it is on back order. I'm told there are other products that would do, eg a glue that you can brush on the (previously doped) framework, allow to dry, then iron on the covering like you would with any of the others. The piece I have is 129" by 67" which is enough to do my wings and empennage at least, I might need a bit more for the fuselage. (Wings are 8ft6" by 2 foot, near enough.) That piece cost AUD 42.95, I dunno what that is in Imperial, but maybe twenty pounds or so.

 

So, I don't know yet...being ideal for giant size models may mean that it is a bit heavy for smaller stuff, which I guess would also depend on how much paint is put on. The plane I have it in mind for is pretty much giant size, a 1/3 Balsa USA Morane Saulnier, so I should be fine.

 

Of course any comments from anyone who has used this stuff would be most welcome.

 

regards

John

Edited By John Olsen 1 on 17/01/2012 07:32:45

[Olly P]

Hmmm, sounds interesting John - Let me know how you get on!

[andy watson]

There was a letter in RCM&E this month from a chap that contacted solartex directly, and they pointed him to alternative films in their range that had different colours.

 

Might be worth a shot.

 

I also back Tims suggestion of poly C/cloth as an excellent method of finishing.

[Ultymate]

Here's a picture of an Edge that I painted over white Profilm some years ago. It was a large 100cc model and there was a lot of preparation work, the areas to be painted (used rattle cans) have to be masked then the shine taken off the film with some fine grade wire wool or similar and I then used a self etching primer. I doubt whether I would do it again and weight may be more of an issue on smaller models. You have to do the prep or the paint simply won't adhere

Sorry about the quality of the photo.

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Tim have a look in my Sea Fury photo album. There's a few there of this.

 

These were painted over the film on a Seagul ARTF.

 

The technique here was to scuff up the shiny surface with a green scouring pad.

The Paint was Warbirds colours from Fighter Aces.

 

None of this is very helpful to you I guess as we can't be sure what the film is on an ARTF and you'll probably want to use different paint.

 

I have a feeling that Profilm do a decent light grey film? I think for a Chippy I'd try to find films of the right colours rather than paint. Have a google for "Profilm light grey"

 

[stuey]

For painting over Solarfilm you need some Prymol, which is an etch primer designed to let you use paint. This is a technique I believe used by Tony Nijhuis on a lot of his models I have read about.

For painting onto Profilm, you need to key it first as mentioned by Chris. I used a scotchpad to take the shine off, then cleaned it with alcohol. So far I have used Halfords enamel spray and WBC Warbirds paints, and they seem to stick on pretty well (touch wood!)

[Tim C]

Hi,

 

You could try here for some low cost film (they have greys).Low Cost Film.

 

I have used them and find the product satisfactory. Its a cross between Solarfilm and Profilm, shrinks well and takes heat (better than Solarfilm)

 

They will mix and match multiple colours and lengths as you need it, postage using China Post is reasonable, and delivery is typically 2 to 3 weeks.

 

 

[Alan Randall]

Solar Film make solarlac, a paint for application on solarfilm etc. If you look on the web site which can be accessed from the advert on the right hand side of the MF home page, you can get colour charts, mixing charts, instructions etc as pdf files.

 

Alan

[Danny Fenton]

John be careful if you use Koverall, the material is nice to apply (You can use Balsaloc by the way) and shrinks really well. The adhering temp and the shrinking temp are far enough apart which is handy.

I use Koverall on a Brian Taylor Hurricane and attached it using Nitrate Dope, before shrinking with heat.

The real issue with Koverall is filling the pores in the weave. If you don't then you will get pinholes in your top finish.

The latest recomendation is to use a couple of coats of sanding sealer to fill the weave. But as yet I haven't tried that. After 6 coats of Nitrate, I still have a few pin holes, so what starts out as being light doesn't remain so.

I would do as others have suggested and use glass cloth and resin for the fus and doped solartex for the open surfaces like the wing rear halves and the control surfaces.

The leading edges of the wings and fuselage were aluminium, if I remember correctly.

 

If you really want to go with film Oracover do the colors

Cheers

Danny

[kc]

It's worth mentioning that Prymol is a Solarfilm product and is sold by model shops.

[Tim Cheal]

Thanks for all your replies guys.

 

My initial thoughts were to use a single colour of solarfilm and paint it to save a few quid when the inevitable repairs are required. I had thought that prepping the fuselage for painting might make it heavier, and more difficult to finish than a film covering, but it definately seems to be the preferred method.

 

I think I have decided to think about it......

 

Actually, it seems that the best solution is to paint the fuselage and cover the wings in the correct colour in 2 parts. So, now I need a trip to the model shop to see what they have got in terms of covering in the colours I can match with paint, and some lightweight cloth and Poly C. Does this add strength as well?

 

Thanks again all.

 

Tim

[Tim Cheal]

PS Nice Chippy Danny

[fly boy3]

Sounds a daft idea, but I have seen a few sport models in a magazine many years ago,that were painted, then covered in transparent solar film. The end result was respectable. Cheers.